Xander Bogaerts leaving the Boston Red Sox for the San Diego Padres was an outcome nobody expected. It felt like Bogaerts was Boston, so seeing him in another uniform was sure to be a strange sight. Red Sox fans were heartbroken at first, but in hindsight, the Red Sox dodged a bullet. Bogaerts' stock has never been lower than it is right now.
As frustrating as it was to see a homegrown fan favorite leave in free agency, Red Sox fans understood it, given the 11-year, $280 million offer he got from the Padres. With that kind of contract, the Padres were expecting him to play like the star he was during his Boston tenure and then some.
Instead, Bogaerts looks like a league-average player right now, if not worse.
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Xander Bogaerts' stock has never been lower since leaving the Red Sox in free agency
Bogaerts' first season in San Diego wasn't bad, as he had a 117 OPS+ and hit 19 home runs in 155 games. He hadn't played like the guy who received MVP votes in each of the five prior seasons, but he was still a productive piece for them. Ever since, though, Bogaerts' play has taken a steep decline. He was a below-average hitter last season, and has been basically the same guy in 2025.
The 32-year-old is slashing .243/.331/.368 with three home runs and 20 RBI in 42 games. His 98 OPS+ is two points below the league average of 100. He's gotten on base a decent amount and has stolen six bases, but his power is non-existent. He looks far more like a pesky No. 7 hitter than he does a middle-of-the-order bat that he's paid to be.
As if his hitting hasn't been disappointing, his defense has taken a step back as well. Ha-Seong Kim's departure opened the door to Bogaerts playing his natural position of shortstop, but he ranks in the 33rd percentile in OAA and the 48th percentile in fielding run value according to Baseball Savant. He was, by both of those metrics, an above-average defender in each of his last three years entering the 2025 campaign.
With Bogaerts now 32 years old, it's hard to envision the next eight years he has under contract after this one being much better. Again, it stung for Red Sox fans to watch Bogaerts end up elsewhere, but in hindsight, the decision to let him walk couldn't have aged much better.